Gamer's Secret Fear
by Gamer the Hedgehog
Summary: Gamer and Jasmine are having fun at the beach. Until Jasmine makes a suggestion that causes something strange to happen to Gamer.
1. Realization

Gamer and Jasmine were on a date at the beach. They were having lots of fun building sand castles, chasing each other around, and just relaxing.  
(Yes they're wearing swimsuits instead of their regular clothes. I just don't feel like describing them.)  
Jasmine said, "Hey Gamer, why don't we go in the water?" As soon as she said this, Gamer started to feel a little queasy.  
He replied, "Jasmine, why don't you go up ahead? I need to go use the bathroom."  
Jasmine shrugged and replied back, "All right. I'll be waiting."  
Gamer nodded and said, "Thanks." He sped up to the bathroom.  
Jasmine thought, "That was strange. Even for Gamer. Oh well." She went out into the water. But not too deep.

With Gamer:  
Gamer was in one of the bathroom stalls. He was puking. When he was done, he flushed the toilet.  
He thought, "That was weird. Why did I throw up? It can't have anything to do with the mention of the water. No. It's gotta be something else." He ran out and went to where Jasmine was.  
Jasmine asked, "You ready to go further out?" Gamer, not trusting his own mouth, simply nodded. They held hands as they walked farther out into the ocean. When they were up to their waists, Gamer suddenly started shuddering.  
Jasmine asked him in concern, "Gamer, what's wrong?"  
Gamer replied, "The water's just cold, that's all." They continued walking farther out. When the water was a little farther up their bodies, Gamer suddenly started crying. He buried his head on his girlfriend's shoulder. Jasmine instinctively rubbed his quills to calm him down, whatever was upsetting him right now.  
She asked, "Gamer, why are you crying?"  
Gamer replied between purrs, "I don't know." Suddenly, he thought of something.  
He thought to himself, "No way. It can't be." Suddenly he realized that it was the only thing that made sense right now. He was suddenly and inexplicably... afraid of water.  
He didn't want to tell Jasmine until he was sure. He told her, "Jasmine, I'll be right back. I need to go to the bathroom again."  
She shrugged again and replied, "All right. I'll be waiting out here."  
Before Gamer went back he asked, "Actually, could you wait for me on the sand? I can't explain why yet."  
Jasmine sighed, "All right. But hurry back." Gamer nodded as he sped back to the bathroom to sort things out for himself.


	2. The Reveal

Gamer was sitting on the toilet in one of the stalls. (Yes, the lid is down. He just needed some privacy) He said to himself, "There's just no way. How can I be afraid of wate-. Of wat-. Of wet stuff." He suddenly found himself unable to begin to say the word "water" without shuddering in fear. Suddenly, he remembered that he hasn't been near the water in years. Not since...  
"The day I had tried to commit suicide." he suddenly remembered. It made perfect sense now. He thought he was over it. But he was wrong.  
"I guess I thought that I might try to drown myself if I got near the water." he realized. But then there was another problem.  
"Should I tell Jasmine, or should I try to fake my way through this and tell her another time?" he wondered. He decided to let Jasmine determine that. When he went back down there, whether she asked about it or not, depending on her wording, would determine whether he would tell her, or try to fake his way through it. He went back down there.

With Jasmine:  
Jasmine was standing in the sand, waiting for Gamer. She thought, "I wonder what's taking him so long. That's so unlike him. Oh well." Suddenly she saw him walking towards her. She noticed that he was looking distracted. When he got back to her, she asked, "What's wrong?"  
Gamer sighed sadly. He replied, "Jasmine, I...have a confession to make. I- I'm afraid of..." He gulped trying to clamp down on his fear enough to finish the sentence. He finished with, "Of water."  
Jasmine asked in surprise, "Water? Since when?"  
Gamer sighed, "Remember when I told you about the time I tried to commit suicide?" She nodded. He continued, "Well, that was the last time I went near the water in several years. Until today. But also since that day, I haven't been able to swim."  
She replied, "Then why did you agree to go out into the water with me?"  
Gamer sighed again. He said, "Because... Well, I just realized my fear while I was in the bathroom a few seconds ago." He laid his head on her shoulder and sobbed quietly.  
Jasmine rubbed his quills again and said soothingly, "There, there. You don't need to cry."  
Gamer, still sobbing but purring at the same time, replied, "I'm just so scared right now. It feels like we're too close to the water from here." He winced when he saw the waves rush in.  
Jasmine said, "I know just what to do. Meet me at the pool later, and I'll help you learn how to swim."  
Gamer replied with a smile, "All right." They kissed for a minute. After they broke, they played in the sand for the next few minutes. Then they each went to their houses.


	3. The Lesson

A few hours later, Gamer and Jasmine were at the pool in their swimsuits. Gamer was still afraid. He was holding onto Jasmine and was whimpering in fear.  
Jasmine said with a gentle smile, "Relax, Gamer. You'll be fine."  
Gamer replied nervously, "I'm still scared. Can you carry me in?" Jasmine sighed, but nodded. Gamer added, "Thanks." Jasmine held him bridle style as they walked in.  
Gamer winced, "Th-the w-water's c-c-cold."  
Jasmine said gently, "You'll be fine. Just don't let go."  
Gamer replied, "Don't worry. I won't." He placed his head on her shoulder and held on even tighter as they got fully in.  
Jasmine said, "It's fine Gamer, you can let go now."  
Gamer shook his head and replied, "I might drown."  
Jasmine just replied gently, "No you won't. Please let go?" Gamer groaned. He slowly let go of her. He still shook in fear when his feet touched the bottom.  
Jasmine smiled as she said, "See, you're fine."  
Gamer just groaned, "But if I lift both my feet up, I might drown."  
Jasmine shook her head and replied, "No you won't. Just look." She floated upwards until she was facing the ceiling. "See," she said, "Now you try."  
Gamer just shook his head as he whimpered, "I c-can't. I'm t-too af-fraid th-th-that I-I-I'll d-d-d-drown. C-can y-you h-help me?"  
Jasmine just replied, "Gamer, come on. You can do it. It's just a simple float." Gamer sighed. He tried floating. But the moment his head started to go beneath the water, he panicked.  
He stood back up and whimpered, "I-I c-can't d-do it. I-It's just t-t-t-too h-hard. W-we'd b-b-b-better l-leave."  
Jasmine shook her head as she responded gently, "No, Gamer. I promised that I would help you deal with your fear. We haven't accomplished that yet. I know." She swam out a few feet. "There, now you'll have to swim."  
Gamer groaned, "C-can't I j-just w-walk t-there?"  
Jasmine said, "No. The water's not shallow enough over here. Come on over." Gamer really wanted to get near her again. But he also didn't want to risk drowning. His two fears, Staying there alone and drowning, battled each other. After what felt like hours, but was really 30 seconds to a minute, the fear of staying there alone won out. He swam right towards Jasmine. When he got to her he grabbed her tightly, buried his face in her chest, and whimpered in fear again.  
Jasmine petted his quills again to calm him down. She soothed, "See, you did it. You're fine." Gamer just shivered.  
He replied shakily, "C-can w-we g-go o-outside t-to w-warm u-up n-n-n-now, p-p-p-please?"  
Jasmine nodded and said, "Sure. Let's dry off first. I'll carry you." Gamer nodded. That's just what he wanted. He held on to her even tighter. When they were out of the water, they dried off, put their clothes back on, and went outside.  
Jasmine started rubbing his quills again. He started purring. He really liked it.  
Jasmine chuckled and said, "Does that feel good?" Gamer just nodded, smiling happily.  
He then said, "Jasmine, can you rub my ears please?" He blushed.  
Jasmine replied, "Sure." As she rubbed his ears, he purred even louder and his tail started wagging.


	4. Afraid No More

After Jasmine finished rubbing Gamer's ears, she asked, "So, do you feel better about going in the water?"  
Gamer involuntarily winced in fear at the mention of water as he replied, "A little. But I'm still scared." He buried his head in her chest again.  
Jasmine smiled as she responded, "It'll take some time before you fully overcome it." She rubbed his quills some more.  
Gamer replied between purrs, "How long?"  
Jasmine answered, "Probably a few weeks." Seeing him wince at how long she thought it would take, she added, "But don't worry. You'll be just fine."  
So every day for the next few weeks, they went to the pool. For the first few days, Gamer still had trouble floating. After about a week, however, he was finally able to float without panicking.  
On this day, Jasmine said happily, "You did it. You finally managed to float. Now to get you to swim easier."  
Over the next several days, she had Gamer do different swim strokes. At first, he was scared to do more than just the doggy paddle, but after a while he had gotten used to the different strokes.  
On that day, when they were outside, Jasmine said in joy, "You're finally able to swim. Feel better now?"  
Gamer smiled as he replied, "Yeah. I'm sorry for troubling you with my fear."  
Jasmine just said gently, "Gamer, it wasn't any trouble."  
Gamer started crying quietly as he replied, "But it took a while for you to get me to swim."  
Jasmine just rubbed his quills again as she replied gently, "That's understandable. You were just afraid, that's all." They kissed for about a minute.  
When they broke for air, Gamer said, "I love you Jasmine."  
She replied, "I love you too, Gamer."  
And from that day on, Gamer really had fun swimming.


End file.
